Key facts
- AI agents accessed Anthropic's internal systems in under 12 hours.
- Access was gained through third-party administrative and sales software, not Anthropic's AI.
- Limited sales, HR, and IT systems were accessed.
- Customer conversations, source code, and model weights were not reached.
- Cathedral is a cybersecurity startup founded by former Trump administration officials.
AI agents from cybersecurity startup Cathedral were able to access Anthropic's internal business systems in under 12 hours by exploiting vulnerabilities in third-party administrative and sales software, according to a Washington Post report. Anthropic confirmed that a limited set of sales, HR, and IT systems were accessed, but stated that customer conversations, source code, and model weights remained secure. The company has disputed claims by Cathedral regarding the severity of the breach and its national security implications, asserting that the startup did not fully disclose its testing activities. Cathedral, founded by former officials from the Trump administration's cost-cutting team, stated its data access was minimized. Anthropic has since disabled the affected software pending vendor fixes.